Metal Gear Coming to the Movies

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Solid Snake is coming to the big screen, as Konami aims to extend its game franchise into movies.

Japanese game company Konami said Thursday that a movie version of the popular game franchise Metal Gear will be created by the producer of the Spider-Man and other hit Marvel series.

The movie based on the "Metal Gear Solid" title will be produced by Avi Arad, the former Marvel executive who has helped bring many comic titles to movie form. The movie will be backed by Columbia and Sony Pictures.

The announcement came at an event in Tokyo to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the video game franchise. Few specific details about the movie were released, but Arad said it would be true to the story of the franchise, which focuses on a lone special forces soldier, Solid Snake, who fights to stop a nuclear strike.

"We will take our time and tell the story," Arad said. "The action of course will be great."

Hideo Kojima, the influential game designer who created the franchise and currently works as a Konami executive, said he would like to see actors such as Ben Affleck considered for the lead role, emphasizing that nothing had been decided yet.

The Metal Gear franchise is a core property for Konami. The title was one of the first to intersperse action clips among game action, and is among the first that required stealthily killing or avoiding enemies as opposed to engaging them in the open.

The company is currently working on the upcoming 'Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance' title.

The movie was the major announcement at the Tokyo event for the series, the first game of which was launched in 1987. Hundreds attended the event, including industry insiders and fans from across Japan who were chosen through a drawing to attend.

Arad said the fact that the franchise had lasted 25 years was proof that the story would still appeal to modern audiences.

"Twenty-five years is a phenomenon. It can only happen if it has depth of character and story," he said.

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